U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly and Glenn Thompson both voted Friday against the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which is now heading to President Joe Biden for a signature.
“While I and many of my Republican colleagues were ready to work on real infrastructure proposals, this bill falls far short of our goals,” said Kelly. “Democrats have added things to this bill that are not related to true, traditional infrastructure. We wanted to have a serious discussion with our Democratic friends, but Republicans were boxed out of these negotiations.”
“There was an opportunity to come together and draft a bipartisan, bicameral bill to address America’s aging infrastructure,” said Thompson. “Rather, House Democrats boldly linked infrastructure to a spending bill that is full of budget gimmicks and will cost American taxpayers trillions of dollars. To add insult to injury, the bill fails to adequately address one of the most critical infrastructure needs, broadband connectivity. This is completely unacceptable and further reflects how out of touch Speaker Pelosi is with the concerns of everyday American families.”
Rep. Roy issues statement on infrastructure bill vote
Rep. Chip Roy (TX-21) issued the following statement Friday evening after voting against the Democrat-led “Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act”:
Throughout this process, the supporters of this $1.2 trillion almost 3,000-page monstrosity have lied to the American people about what’s in it and what it really costs.
The bill is not “paid for.” It will increase the deficit by over a quarter trillion dollars, will exacerbate already skyrocketing inflation, and it wastes millions of taxpayer dollars on things like helping “pollinators on roadsides.” It gives unprecedented spending power to unelected Washington bureaucrats, and it funnels billions of taxpayer dollars into renewable energy projects that will devastate our increasingly unreliable grid. Perhaps most absurdly, it will use taxpayer money to put critical race theory into practice with things like a $2.75 billion “digital equity program.”
It should now be abundantly clear to every American and lawmaker that this bill was nothing but a trojan horse for Democrats’ radical proposals to fundamentally transform America.
That 13 House Republicans provided the votes needed to pass this is absurd. Any House Democrats claiming to be moderate after voting to pave the way for a social transformation bill with massive amnesty, against American energy, for budget-busting and unpaid-for spending with massive tax increases, and for massive OSHA fines for vaccine mandates should be laughed out of the room.
what is in the infrastructure bill?
What’s in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill? From Amtrak to Roads to Water Systems
Roughly $1 trillion proposal is key part of President Biden’s agenda
The House of Representatives Friday passed and President Biden is expected to sign a bipartisan infrastructure package that has already passed the Senate, after Democrats ironed out some of their differences on a separate budget package first.
Republican Party
The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP (“Grand Old Party”), is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with its main historic rival, the Democratic Party.
The GOP was founded in 1854 by opponents of the Kansas–Nebraska Act, which allowed for the potential expansion of chattel slavery into the western territories. It was simultaneously strengthened by the collapse of the Whig Party, which had previously been one of the two major parties in the country.
Upon founding, the Republican party supported economic reform and classical liberalism while opposing the expansion of slavery.
Abraham Lincoln was the first Republican president. Under the leadership of Lincoln and a Republican Congress, slavery was banned in the United States in 1865. The GOP was generally dominant during the Third and the Fourth Party System periods. It was strongly committed to protectionism and tariffs at its founding, but grew more supportive of free trade in the 20th century.
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is the set of fundamental facilities and systems that support the sustainable functionality of households and firms.
Serving a country, city, or other area, including the services and facilities necessary for its economy to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and private physical structures such as roads, railways, bridges, tunnels, water supply, sewers, electrical grids, and telecommunications (including Internet connectivity and broadband access). In general, infrastructure has been defined as “the physical components of interrelated systems providing commodities and services essential to enable, sustain, or enhance societal living conditions” and maintain the surrounding environment.
These 6 House Democrats voted against the infrastructure bill. These 13 Republicans voted for it.
The House on Friday voted 228-206 to pass a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill after hours of delays and debating among Democrats, sending the bipartisan measure to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature.
But while Democratic leaders managed to unify House progressives and moderates to hold a vote on the Senate-passed bill, not all members of the party ultimately supported it.
A number of progressives — who have consistently called for both the infrastructure and the separate economic package, known as the Build Back Better Act, to move together — voted “no” on the legislation.
Here are the six House Democrats who broke from their party to vote against the bill:
- Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York
- Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri
- Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York
- Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota
- Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts
- Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan
13 Republicans vote in support
Thirteen Republicans in the House voted with Democrats to approve the bill. They are:
- Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska
- Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania
- Rep. Andrew Gabarino of New York
- Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio
- Rep. John Katko of New York
- Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois
- Rep. Nicole Malliotakis of New York
- Rep. David McKinley of West Virginia
- Rep. Tom Reed of New York
- Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey
- Fred Upton of Michigan
- Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey
- Rep. Don Young of Alaska
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infrastructure bill 2021 vote breakdown
How Every House Member Voted on the Infrastructure Bill
The House of Representatives approved a $1 trillion infrastructure package on Friday night, with a majority of Democrats and 13 Republicans voting in favor. Read the latest updates »
The bill, which includes $550 billion in new federal spending and reauthorizes several existing programs, passed the Senate nearly three months ago after lengthy bipartisan negotiations.
House Democrats had planned to also hold a vote on their sprawling social policy and climate bill on Friday, but it was put on hold after their more centrist members said they needed to see a formal cost estimate first. Progressive members had said they would not to support the infrastructure legislation until progress was made on the second, larger bill, but most voted ‘yes’ after the centrist members offered assurances that they would eventually support it if cost estimates come in as expected.
build back better bill
Biden Build Back Better bill passes procedural vote in House
Biden social and climate bill clears procedural vote in House, where it still awaits final approval
The House of Representatives passed a key procedural vote to line up eventual passage of the Build Back Better Act, President Joe Biden’s signature social safety net and climate change bill.
The original plan to pass the final bill Friday fell apart when it became clear that a small group of House moderates would not vote for the bill until they see an economic analysis from the CBO.
The vote came soon after the House late Friday night passed the $1 trillion, Senate-approved bipartisan infrastructure bill, which will now go to Biden’s desk.